U-20 World Cup 2017 Results: Updated Group Tables After France and USA Win

France booked their place in the knockout stage of the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup on Thursday, as they hammered Vietnam 4-0.

It was a performance that preserved the team's perfect record in the competition, keeping them top of Group E. Later in the day, New Zealand closed the gap at the top to just two points, as they overcame Honduras 3-1.

In Group F, the United States moved to the top of the table, as they battled their way to a 1-0 win over Senegal. Earlier on in the same group, Saudi Arabia got their first win of the tournament, as they got the better of Ecuador 2-1.

Here are the results from Thursday's fixtures and a look back at another absorbing day from the tournament in South Korea.

Group	Result
E	France 4-0 Vietnam
E	New Zealand 3-1 Honduras
F	Ecuador 1-2 Saudi Arabia
F	United States 1-0 Senegal

For the updated group standings visit the FIFA website.

Thursday Recap

In their opening fixture against Honduras, France produced one of the most impressive performances of the tournament so far. On Thursday they turned on the style again against Vietnam.

The match didn't get off to the most straightforward of starts, though. That was after Jean-Kevin Augustin hit the bar with an attempted penalty kick for Les Bleus early on.

Football journalist Andrew Gibney was not pleased:

France were able to quickly take the game away from their opponents, though. Marcus Thuram put them in front with a header from a corner, before Augustin made amends, finishing off a lovely pass from Thuram.

Before the break, Augustin had his second, tucking home well after a powerful run.

Vietnam were spared a hammering in the second period, as France took their foot off the gas a little. They did manage to add one more goal, as Denis Poha fired in from distance seven minutes after the restart; per Scouted Football, it was quite the finish:

New Zealand take on this impressive France outfit next, and they ensured they still have a chance of topping the group when the duo meet.

That's after they got the better of Honduras with a comfortable 3-1 win. They were on their way to victory with just one minute on the clock, too, as Myer Bevan—who netted twice in this fixture—marched down the right-hand side to hammer home a stunning shot off the crossbar.

The United States are also on four points in Group F, as they conjured a goal of tremendous class to beat Senegal.

Josh Sargent was on hand to apply the finishing touch in the 34th minute, although the buildup play from the young U.S. side was a joy to watch, per the New York Red Bulls Twitter account:

Saudi Arabia also remain in contention to qualify, and while Abdulrahman Alyami grabbed a brace in this one, they have goalkeeper Amin Albukhari to thank for helping them past Ecuador.

The stopper plunged to keep out Bryan Cabezas' penalty in the first period, and as Ecuador piled forward in search of an equalising goal, he was on hand to make a selection of superb saves to preserve the three points for his country.